Protective device for ski lift chairs



Nov. 14, 1961 A. MCILVAINE 3,008,761

PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR SKI LIFT CHAIRS Filed June 3, 1958 2 She ets-Sheet1 ALEXAN DER Mc lLVAl N E INVENTOR.

' BY A TTORNEY Nov. 14, 1961 A. M ILVAINE 0 PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR SKILIFT CHAIRS I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 3, 1958 ALEXANDER M'c ILVMNEINVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,008,761 PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR SKI LIFICHAIRS Alexander Mcllvaine, 128 E. 36th St., New York, N.Y. Filed June3, 1958, 'Ser. No. 739,515 7 Claims. (Cl. 29784) This invention relatesto protective means for the chairs employed on ski lifts and is directedparticularly to protective enclosures for passengers using such chairs.

The chairs for ski lifts are carried up the side of a mountain or skiingslope by means of cables and often are elevated a considerable distanceabove the surrounding trees and hills, whereby they are exposed towintry blasts as well as sleet and snow during winter. As a result, itis often very uncomfortable for passengers to ride the chairs of a skilift and they may receive severe windburn or frost bite from exposure inthe chairs. At the same time, unoccupied chairs often are covered withsnow or sleet and become so Wet as to be uncomfortable for use bypassengers. Ski lifts also are frequently used in summer to carrypassengers up a mountain side or to a look-out area. On such occasions,the passengers may be older persons or children for whom protection andsafety are of great importance.

In accordance with the present invention, ski lift chairs are providedwith an encl-osure hood, windshield, or other protective means whichserves to shield them from exposure and reduce the danger of accidents.The protective means is mounted on the chair in such a manner as to bereadily movable so that it will not interfere with the loading ordischarge of the passengers. Moreover, the construction provided issuch' as to afford clearance forthe skis worn by the passengers inWinter so that it is not necessary for the passengers to remove theirskis in order to avail themselves of the advantages of'the pro tectivemeans. 0n the other hand, in fair, mild weather when there is limitedwind, the passengers often will not Wish to use the protective meansand, therefore, it is preferably mounted for movement into and out ofoperative position without displacing other elements of the chair or itssupp rt.

In the preferred forms of the invention, the protective means areemployed on ski lift chairs of the type shown and described in my issuedPatent No. 2,662,587 wherein a movable safety gate and-foot rest isprovided. The protective-means may then be movable with the pivotallymounted foot rest assembly although it may be pivoted on such assemblyfor independent tilting movement into and out of operative positionwithout moving the foot rest.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present inventionis to provideski lift chairswith protecting means for shielding passengers fromexposure to the elements.

Another object of the invention is to provide protective means such asan enclosure'which is pivotally mounted on thechair for movement intoand out of operative position. a

A further object of the invention is to provide a chair for a ski liftwith protective means which may be moved into and out ofoperative-positions without the necessity of removing the skis in orderto use the protective means. m

A specific objectof the invention resides in the provision of protectivemeans for a ski chair which may be carried by a movable safety gate andfoot rest assembly.

These and other objects and features of the present invention willappear from the following description thereof wherein reference is madeto the figures of the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FlG. l is a side elevation of a ski chair embodying a typical form ofprotective means embodying the present invention as applied to a skichair having a movable safety gate and foot rest assembly;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the construction shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation illustrating an alternative form of enclosureembodying the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation illustrating another alternative form ofprotective means embodying the present invention as applied to a skichair having a movable foot rest assembly;

FIG. 5 illustrates the construction of FIG. 4 moved to the loadingposition; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a further alternative embodiment of theinvention as applied to a ski chair having a fixed foot rest.

In that form of the invention chosen for purposes of illustration inFIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the ski lift chair is shown generally at2 and has a movable foot rest assembly 4 of the type covered by myissued Patent No. 2,662,587. The chair is supported by a hanger 6 fromthe cable 8 of the ski lift and has a frame with an upper portion 10which extends in an opposite direction from the hanger above the chair.The frame further is provided with side portions 12 which extenddownwardly at opposite sides of the chair 14, while the lower portion 16of the frame extends beneath the chair from one side portion 12 to theother. The chair itself is secured to the side portions 12 of the hangerand as illustrated is designed for use by two passengers, although theinvention, of course, may be used with single passeng'er chairs in thesame way.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the movable foot rest assembly 4 isprovided with means such as an arm which may embody side members 18 anda safety bar in the form of a horizontal rail 20 which is positioned infront of the passengers when the chair is in use. Center members 22extend downward from safety bar 20 and have a foot rest 24 connectedthereto. The side members 18 are pivotally connected at 26 to the chair14 near the upper portion of the back thereof or at any other suitablepoint for movement from the active or carrying position shown in fulllines in FIG. 1 to the inactive or loading position shown in dottedlines therein. If desired, the foot rest assembly 24 may be providedwith a counter weight 28 or with spring means or other elements designedto aid in moving the foot rest assembly relative to the chair from thelowered carrying position to the raised loading position shown.

If desired, the foot rest assembly 4 or the counter weight 28 thereofalso may be formed with a laterally projecting operating member 30 whichcooperates with stationary elements 32 and 34 suitably located near thetop and bottom of the ski lift to engage the operating members andautomatically move the foot rest assembly to the raised loading positionand to the lowered carrying position as the chairs are carried past thestationary elements by the cable 8.

As shown in FIG. 1, the protecting means may be of such size as tosubstantially enclose the chair 12 and the passengers seated on thechair. Constructions of this type afford the maximum possible protectionfor the passengers and yet the protective means may be formed oftransparent material which will not obstruct the view. The protectivemeans may be secured to the side members 18 of the foot rest assembly soas to move with the assembly into and out of passenger protectingposition. For this purpose, the hood or protecting means 36 preferablyis removably attached to the side members 18 by clips 38 or otherwise soas to permit its ready removal when desired. Although the protectivemeans 36 may be formed of a single piece of transparent plasticmaterial, the preferred construction shown in .FIG. 1 includes :a

lower bodyportion 40 with a removable transparent dome 42 through whichthe passengers may see the surrounding territory. Moreover, for useduring summertime when the passengers do not wear skis and may bechildren or older persons, a supplemental closure 44 may be secured tothe side members 18 and tothe lower edge 46 of the body 40 as shown inFIG. 1. This closure will prevent children or articles from slippingthrough the space between the protective means and the chair and, ifdesired, may be formed of opaque material to overcome the fears whichsome persons may experience when at a high elevation. On the other hand,the supplemental closure 44 will normally be removed during the winterseason in order to afford a clearance between the lower edge 46 of theprotective means and the foot rest 24 to allow the passengers skis toproject forwardly and rearwardly beneath the protective means and thechair. The protective means then can be used without requiring thepassengers to remove their skis in order to enjoy the advantages of theprotection afforded by the enclosure.

In the alternative construction of FIG. 3, the protecting means is shownashaving a lower body 48 formed of metal, plastic or other materialwhich may be opaque and'has a transparent panel or section 50 which ismovable with respect to the body 48 to open and close the top area infront of the passengers during mild or pleasant weather. As-shown, thesection 50 is pivotally mounted at 520m the sides of the body 48 and istiltable from the full line to the dotted line position of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the protective means of the present inventionis in the form of a relatively smaller hood or cap 54 mounted on theside members 18 of the movable foot rest assembly. In this construction,the protective means serves primarily as a windshield for protecting thepassengers head or face. The cap 54 has supporting brackets 56 securedto the side members 18 of the foot rest assembly and extending upwardand forward from the side members at opposite sides of the chair. Theprotective means is mounted at 58 on the brackets 56 so as to betiltable into and out of an operative position infrOnt of the wearersface as shown in FIG. 4. However; when the passengers find they do notneed or wish to use the windshield, the protective means may be raisedand tilted rearwardly by means of a handle 60 so it will assume thedotted line position of FIG. 4. Stop means 62 carried by the windshieldor protective means project outward at the end thereof into position toengage the bracket 56 to hold the windshield in the operative full lineposition of FIG. 4, whereas a pin or other stop means 64 may be mountedon the side member 18 of the foot rest assembly to hold the windshieldin its open or inactive position as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4 andin full lines in FIG. 5

The windshield or protective means is preferably formed of transparentmaterial such as clear synthetic plastic, glass, laminated cellophane orthe like, so that it will afford the least possible obstruction to theview of the, passengers. The handle 60 also may be made of plastic andthe whole assembly should be sufiiciently light in weight and easilymovable to enable the passengers to raise and lower the windshield atwill.

In using any of the constructions shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the loadingposition of the foot rest assembly is the raised position in dottedlines in FIG. 1 and in full lines in FIG. 5. When in this position, thecenter members 221 of the footrest assembly engage the upper portion ofthe frame for the chair. The protective means is then tilted rearwardlywith the upper portion of the foot rest assembly so as to be located atthe b ack of the chair 14. Passengers. then may enter or leave the chairwithout difficulty. As shown in FIG. 1, the foot rest assembly'may bemoved to this position automatically by stationary element 32 ifdesired, or it may be raised by an attendant or otherwise. Furthermore,the location of the pivot means about which the protective means istilted may be such that upon raising the foot rest assembly to itsloading position, the protective means will move automatically under theaction of gravity to its opened or inoperative position as shown inFIGS. 1 to 5. Thereafter, the foot rest assembly is subsequently loweredand the protective means may be arranged to closeor move to. itsoperative'position by gravityv whereby the chair will be protected fromthe weather even when not occupied.

After the passengers have taken their seats in the chair, the foot restassembly is tilted about its pivotal support,

automatically or otherwise, so as to lower the foot restbar 24 intoposition for them toplace their feet on the scribed above are designedparticularly for use on chairs.

for ski lifts wherein there is a movable foot rest assembly, theconstruction is equally applicable to chairs having a stationary footrest or no foot rest at all. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6, the foot rest 70and safety bar 72 are held in fixed positions with respect tothe chair74, whereas the protective means or hood 76 is carried by side members78 pivotally mounted at 80 behind the chair. The side members 78.may beextended rearwardly as shown at 82 and be provided with a counter weight84. Stop means 86 on the side members are positioned to engage the rearof the chair when the protective means is raised to the full lineposition of FIG. 6 whereby the enclosure will remain raised whenpassengers are entering or leaving the chair. However, the enclosure orhood may be lowered into its protecting position asshown in dotted linesby simply pulling down on the front edgethereof; The lower edge of theenclosure may then rest against the wearers chest as shown or, ifdesired, a second stop member 88 may be carried by the side members 78and may be positioned to engage the front face of the back of the chair74 nearthe upper edge of the back of the chair.

Each of the forms of the invention shown is of advantage in protectingthe empty chairs from snow and rain which render them uncomfortable, ifnot unusable, by passengers. high winds are encountered, the rounded orstreamlined contour of the enclosure may serve to reduce the windresistance and limit swinging of the empty chairs and strains on thecable of the ski lift.

It will be apparent from the foregoingdescription and the variousmodifications thereof illustrated that the protective means may be ofany desired size, shape and construction andmay be mounted for movementrelative to the chair and foot rest 'in any suitable manner preferred.In view thereof, it should be understood that the particular embodimentsof the invention which have been shown in the drawings and describedabove have been chosen for purposes of illustration only and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a chair for a ski lift having a movable foot restassembly connected to the chair, including a foot'rest, protective meanscarried by said foot rest assembly and presenting a lower edge spacedfrom the foot rest, said protective means including an enclosureembodying a transparent portion movable with the foot rest assembly andwith respect to said chair into and out of a position to locate saidtransparent portion in front of a passenger seated in the chair, saidfoot rest assembly having a counteracting means connected thereto andserving to aid in the movement of the enclosure toan inactive position.

Moreover, the

Moreover, in those locations wherein.

2. In combination with a ski chair, a foot rest pivotally mounted formovement with respect to said chair from a raised position above thechair forwardly and downwardly to a lowered position below the chair andprotective means including a transparent windshield pivotally mountedfor movement with respect to the foot rest and movable with the footrest from a raised inactive position to a lowered position in which itis located in front of a person seated on the chair, the lower edge ofsaid protective means when in said lowered position being spaced fromthe foot rest a distance sufficient to permit skis to project forwardbeneath the protective means and above the foot rest.

3. An aerial ski lift including a chair having a seat and a back rest,an arm pivotally connected to a member fixed relative to the chair andsaid arm extending downward below the seat but movable forward andupward above the seat, a foot rest carried by said arm, transparentprotective means carried by said arm and movable therewith, and meansextending from said arm for moving it about its pivot to raise the footrest and protective means forward and upward above the seat wherebyclearance below the seat is increased and users may have free access tothe seat while wearing skis.

4. An aerial ski lift including a chair having a seat and a back rest,an arm pivotally connected to the chair adjacent the back rest andextending forward and downward below the seat but movable forward andupward above the seat, a foot rest carried by said arm, transparentprotective means carried by said arm and movable therewith, and meansextending from said arm for moving it about its pivot to raise the footrest and protective means forward and upward above the seat wherebyclearance below the seat is increased and users may have free access tothe seat while wearing skis.

5. In combination with a chair for a ski lift having a movable foot restassembly connected to the chair and including a foot rest, protectivemeans carried by said foot rest assembly and presenting a lower edgespaced from the foot rest, said protective means embodying an enclosuremovable with the foot rest assembly and with respect to said chair, saidenclosure including a transparent portion pivotally mounted on the footrest assembly for movement with respect to both said assembly and saidchair into and out of a position in front of a passenger seated in thechair.

6. In combination with a chair for a ski lift having a movable foot restassembly pivotally mounted adjacent the back of the chair for movementto and from loading and operative positions, said foot rest assemblyincluding a foot rest, protective means carried by said foot restassembly and presenting a lower edge spaced from the foot rest, saidprotective means embodying a transparent portion in the form of awindshield carried by the foot rest assembly and movable therewith, thewindshield being movable with respect to the foot rest assembly into andout of an active position in front of a passenger seated in the chair. 1

7. In combination with a chair for a ski lift having a movable foot restassembly connected to the chair and movable from a raised position to aloading position, said foot rest assembly including a foot rest,protective means carried by the foot rest assembly and presenting alower edge spaced from the foot rest, said protective means including atransparent portion in the form of a windshield pivotally movable intoand out of an active position in front of a passenger seated in thechair, the pivot about which said windshield is movable being spacedfrom the pivot about which the foot rest assembly is moved to itsloading position, the windshield being movable by gravity from itsactive position to an inactive position when its pivot is raised bymovement of the foot rest assembly to said loading position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,662,587 McIlvaine Dec. 15, 1953 2,733,027 Gero Jan. 31, 1956 2,806,666Brown Sept. 17, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 486,156 Germany Nov. 9, 1929179,554 Austria Sept. 10, 1954 183,445 Austria Oct. 10, 1955

